John de Mol’s Talpa has launched a Middle East production unit, which will be run by former Sony Pictures Television exec Ziad Kebbi. He will run Talpa Middle East alongside Maximum Media, the regional prodco he formed after leaving SPT. Sources first linked Kebbi with Talpa as TBI revealed news of Zebbi’s departure from SPT in […]
Middle Eastern broadcaster MBC has acquired Sony Pictures Televison’s El Mariachi, the Latin drama based on the Robert Rodriguez movie of the same name. The pan-regional free-to-air broadcaster will show the 71-part drama on its MBC Action channel next year. El Mariachi is produced by SPT-backed Colombian prodco Teleset, which also makes the Spanish language […]
Middle Eastern broadcaster MBC has acquired Celebrity Style Story, a format from Global Agency-owned World Wide Entertainment. The pan-regional network is getting its own version of the show, which Thuderbird Films first produced for E! Canada. The format tells the story of celebrity’s style history using archive interview clips, red carpet footage and photos, with […]
Sony Pictures Television Arabia’s president Ziad Kebbi is exiting the business as part of a restructure that will scale back production operations in the Middle East, TBI can reveal. TBI understands SPT is scaling down its Dubai, UAE headquarters, closing down its production office in Beirut, Lebanon and reducing operations at its Cairo, Egypt base. […]
Programming services in Turkey and the Middle East have acquired football-themed funny clips show Foot Pop from French distributor Novovision. Turkish IPTV service TTNET and Arabic private broadcaster MBC have both acquired the show, which comes in 26x22mins and 300x2mins. This comes after Malaysia’s Fine TV acquired the 26-episode version. “Today, we are aiming a […]
Eleven broadcasters have acquired new Frontline series United States of Secrets from PBS International. ZDF in Germany, SBS (Australia), NHK (Japan), NRK (Norway), RDI (Canada), Al Arabiya/MBC (Middle East), TVI (Portugal), TVN (Poland), SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark) and PBS America have all bought the two-part show. The series looks into the US government’s surveillance programme, […]
Italian kids channel Rai Gulp has acquired animated action series Sendokai Champions from Spanish distributor Nottingham Forest. The Rai channel will air the show from July following the deal. The show broadcasts in Spain on TV Clan and across Latin America on Cartoon Network. It is also set for the Vortexx programming block on The […]
Chellomedia Central Europe is among buyers of DHX Media’s kids series. The channels operator has renewed season one and acquired season three of Martha Speaks for its channel Minimax in Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Croatia, RTL Kockika has acquired Arthur, Johnny Test and Caillou (pictured). Elsewhere, pan-Arab broadcaster MBC has acquired shows […]
Pan-regional Middle Eastern broadcaster MBC has ordered a local version of Your Face Sounds Familiar, the celebrity singing talent format distributed by Endemol. The deal, which is the first for the format in the region, paves the way for a weekly primetime version of the show to go out on MBC’s MBC4 and MBC Egypt […]
Dubai-based MBC3 has acquired preschool show Tickety Toc from distributor Zodiak Kids. The MBC Group channel has taken rights in the Middle East and North Africa in a four-year deal that makes it both broadcast licensing partner and local agent. “We look forward to working strategically with MBC across TV and consumer products to build […]
